Best Nutrition Advice for School-Aged Children

Eat breakfast every day:                                                          

• To help maintain concentration in class.
• A good breakfast should provide a third of the total daily energy requirement.
• A typical breakfast includes a cereal (rice, bread, oats, and corn-flakes), protein-rich food (cheese, labneh, egg, milk, and yogurt) and vitamin C rich fruit (orange, kiwi  ...).
• Children who eat a healthy breakfast are less likely to snack on foods that are high in fat and/or sugar later on and tend to have a better nutrient intake across the day
• Skipping breakfast has deleterious effects on memory and attention.

 
Snacks in schools:

• Choose snacks that provide a range of essential nutrients as well as energy, such as low-fat yogurts, low-fat milk, fruits, healthy sandwiches of white cheese or labneh and vegetables, unsalted/ unsweetened nuts and seeds
• Avoid popular snack foods such as biscuits, ships, crisps and chocolate bars that are high in fat and/ or sugar.

 
 
 

Eat a variety of foods in order to have adequate nutrient intake:

• Adequate nutrition will help the child develop maximal intelligence (IQ) and well-being.          
• Choose a daily diet with plenty of grain products, vegetables and fruits.
• Choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.                                        
• Choose a diet that provides enough calcium and iron to meet the growing body’s requirements.

• Choose a diet low in sugars and salt: Remove salt shakers from tables
• Take oily fish at least once every three weeks
• Restrict provision of meat products                        

 
 



Water.    

Drink water all the day                                                                           
 
 
 
 


Shift to low-calorie and low-fat meals, snacks and deserts, low fat or skimmed milk

• Reducing the use of deep frying
• Avoid taking sweet deserts, soft drinks, fruit-flavored drinks, sugar-coated cereals, chips or candy, as they have little nutritional value

 
Balance the food with regular physical activity in order to maintain a healthy body weight

It is recommended that children and young people should engage in 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity each day.
 
 
Parents should teach children from an early age about nutrition, foods, drinks, healthy eating and drinking

• To know what happens to the food they consume.
• The child should be guided to make independent food choices and eat a variety of foods.

 

 Dental Hygiene
It is important to teach children about dental hygiene to keep their teeth healthy and strong.